Conventional communications networks that provide network services for subscribers based upon a contractual service agreement tend to provide various service plans, but do not investigate to determine if the selected service plans are suitable for the subscribers.
For example, a subscriber might have agreed to a feature-rich service plan or one with a very large number of minutes or other usage parameters, yet rarely use many of the available features or a significant portion of the provisioned usage allocation. Conversely, the subscriber might agree to a service plan that can be relatively inexpensively provided by the network because the service plan is tied to certain devices that are generally not capable of incurring substantial costs to the network through customary use. However, after such service is ordered, the terms agreed to by the subscriber can be violated, which can lead to substantial costs to the network. For instance, the subscriber can swap the subscriber identity module (SIM) from the provisioned device to an unauthorized one (or engage in device tethering or the like) that can take advantage of the services provided in a manner not intended by the network, and thus undermine the feasibility of low-cost service plans.
Currently, host networks do not have the ability to prevent such behavior after the ordering phase. In other words, the network provider can allocate service plans based upon devices identified during the ordering of service by the subscriber, but have no ability to detect the usage inequities noted.